The frisson of danger that accompanies eating fugu has secured it a special status among diners and chefs, who must train for at least three years before attempting to qualify for a license. A panel of experts from Japan’s food safety commission is to rule on the safety of Saga’s farmed fugu by the end of the year. The liver lobby, led by the prefecture’s governor, Yoshinori Yamaguchi, is not giving up. “I would never serve the liver or other poisonous parts, no matter how many reassurances I’d been given,” says Takahashi, who will return next week to take the official test. One of the biggest fears is that wild and poisonous fugu will find their way into cordoned off breeding pens and mix with their non-toxic counterparts. “There is no absolute guarantee of safety.” “If the prefecture’s proposal is approved, many consumers will mistakenly believe that puffer fish liver is safe to eat, resulting in more accidents,” Yuichi Makita, vice-chairman of the restaurant association, told the Asahi Shimbun. Rearing the fish on food that is toxin-free removes the risk, or so the theory goes.īut owners of hundreds of fugu restaurants in Saga have warned that relaxing the law could end up killing diners. The poison in the fugu is produced when the fish feed on poisonous starfish, snails and other creatures. If digested, the neurotoxin causes numbness around the mouth, followed by paralysis and death by asphyxiation. With help from a local fisheries firm and university researchers, the officials claim they have perfected a method of farming the fish that ensures the liver contains not a single trace of tetrodotoxin. “If any poison finds its way on to the edible parts, it would be disastrous.”ĭespite the risks, officials in Saga prefecture, western Japan, are calling for an end to the decades-old ban on serving the liver – considered by some to be the tastiest part of the fish – in restaurants. But there are differences among the more than 20 edible fugu species.“The hardest part is ensuring the parts that can be eaten are absolutely clean,” says Takahashi, one of dozens of chefs being put through their paces at a culinary school in Tokyo in preparation for a test to obtain their fugu licence. The ovaries and liver are particularly dangerous, as they contain the poison tetrodotoxin, or TTX for short. In order to stay alive, the cutting of the fish is crucial. “Fugu wa kuitashi, inochi wa oshishi”, which translates to “I want to eat fugu, but I am attached to my life”, is a traditional Japanese saying. Hirobumi Ito, who became the first Prime Minister of Japan in 1885 and came from Shimonoseki, allowed his compatriots to enjoy the delicacy again. Thereupon the shogun forbade the consumption of fugu fish. Not because of enemy hands, but because they ate fugu in Shimonoseki. When the shogun Hideyoshi Toyotomi rounded up soldiers to attack Korea in the 17th century, many of his men are said to have died. There was a time when it was forbidden to eat fugu in Japan. Please proceed carefully below and treat this recipe only for curiosity purposes if you’re not a licenced expert. There is no antidote for the poison and since the year 2000, 23 people have died from eating fugu according to government sources.īefore we begin with the recipe, it’s very important to note that this dish should only be prepared by highly specialized, licensed chefs in Japan, and as such, it is not recommended to be prepared at home. At first there is a numb feeling on the tongue and hands until the whole body becomes numb and paralyzed. What Happens if you Eat the Poison of Fugu? It is said that this is supposed to dilute the poison and then make the organ edible as a particularly delicious delicacy. In the province of Ishikaga, the ovaries are also dried and inserted. However, this is the part full of poison and the Japanese consciously accept food poisoning when eating it. The very daring will find a special attraction in eating the liver of all things because it is so wonderfully fat and smooth and is therefore particularly tasty. Whilst fugu is certainly one of the most unusual delicacies in the world, it is advised not to add it to your bucket list unless you are certain it is prepared safely. There are always those who cannot resist the temptation of trying fugu and who, despite lacking experience, prepare their fugu themselves. This is because there are toxic parts of the poison tetrodotoxin in the fish’s organs which neat to be prepared properly in order to prevent it from contaminating the meat. Fugu is a puffer fish delicacy eaten in Japan which, if prepared incorrectly, can be deadly to eat.
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